2017 Football Season

With just over two weeks left until kickoff, it's time to take a look at the uniforms the Bulldogs are expected to wear in 2017. Last season, the Bulldogs updated the white jerseys, white pants, and maroon pants, but the maroon jerseys remained the same as in 2015. Finally, in 2017, as confirmed by @hailstateEQ, the Bulldogs will have a consistent uniform set as the maroon jersey has been updated to match everything else.

The changes to the maroon jersey in 2017 include:

The collar has changed from black-white-black to just white.

The sleeve stripes have changed from double white stripes with black outlines to white-gray white.

All of the black has been removed from the jersey, expect, inexplicably, the outline on the numbers. The removal of black from the collar and stripes is going to make them pop significantly more; the black and maroon always sort of bled together to create a look that was rather drab. The addition of gray to the stripes brings it in line with the rest of the set, which includes gray pants and a silver helmet, as well as gray accents on the white helmet, white pants, and maroon pants. Indeed, the set is all but complete for 2017.

Other possible changes in 2017 include an alteration of the gray pants, on which the M-State logo is on top of the stripe instead of on the front left of the pants, as it is on the maroon and white pants. It's unclear whether or not this change will be made, but I will say that with gray finally back as an accent on the maroon jersey, I would be very surprised to see the gray pants not worn in 2017.

There hasn't been any news, official or otherwise, regarding any helmet changes in 2017. The Bulldogs only wore three helmets in 2016, and all three go perfectly with the rest of the uniforms. I do miss the matte maroon helmets, but I doubt they come back until the silver helmets are removed. I haven't heard or seen anything about either of those things happening, so at this moment it looks like the helmets will stay the same in 2017, which is absolutely fine. Like I said, they go perfectly with the rest of the uniforms.

Black alternate uniforms are expected to be worn again in 2017, for the third year in a row and the sixth time in school history (check out the Situational Graphics page a look at the Bulldogs' history in black uniforms.) The 2017 "what to wear" schedule shows the UMass game on November 4th as the 2017 "Blackout" game, so I expect black to be worn that game.

The only possible hint that we have regarding the 2017 version is a replica jersey listing on the official hailstatestore.com. It's worth noting that replica jerseys are not always indicative of what is worn on the field, but this same listing had the updated maroon jersey a few weeks before it was officially confirmed, so it has at least some credence. It could certainly be something different (perhaps with stripes that actually match the 2017 maroon and white jerseys), but this is all I have to go off of for now. As long as it's better than last year, I'll be happy.

Last year, the Bulldogs wore silver helmets with the black alternates, though it was rumored that white helmets were also considered. Given that the replica I'm basing the prediction on features a good bit of white, I went with white helmets for this prediction.

For the pants, I'm more hopeful than anything that the black pants will feature the same stripes as the gray, maroon, and white pants. The last two years, however, black pants have featured the oversized M-State logo. I would not be surprised to see that be the case again...

With all that in mind, the following are my uniform predictions for each game in 2017. I tried to balance everything as well as possible while maintaining good matchups with the opponents' colors. Most of these games are toss-ups as far as exact combinations go; it's a good bet that State will wear white for all road games and maroon for all home games, except for the UMass game, in which it's all but confirmed that they will wear black. The only other game we have a hint at is the Texas A&M game, with whom the Bulldogs have a history of non-traditional uniform matchups. Yesterday, the Aggies announced alternate all-maroon uniforms that they will wear against the Bulldogs in 2017. It's unclear if the Bulldogs will counter with an alternate uniform themselves, but I think it's a safe bet that, as they have in the past, they will at least limit maroon against the Aggies and wear either white or silver helmets.

In my opinion, if they do anything similar to this, it will be one of, if not the, best uniform seasons in Mississippi State history.

Another change is to the aesthetics around Mississippi State football is that the logo on the south Jumbotron at Davis Wade Stadium has changed yet again; the gray outline on the M-State logo has been removed. I like this change; it brings it in line with the logo on the maroon helmet (which went through a similar change during the 2015 season) and makes the logo stand out more. Hopefully this logo stays until the Jumbotron is inevitably torn down and the south end zone is bowled in.

Opponent Graphics show the helmet matchups and MSU uniform combo for every game since 1980 against every team that the Bulldogs have played since 1980. Situational Graphics show the Bulldogs' history in certain uniform elements and combinations (currently included are black jerseys, gray pants, alternate white helmets, white jerseys at home, matte maroon helmets, and maroon jerseys with maroon pants.)